Battery level guide

[Paladin]

I spent several hours over the weekend reading threads and watching videos on Lipo batteries and took notes etc.. This is the guide I came up with and I think it is pretty accurate. I am not an expert in any way but this information is from various sources and seems to be the best overall advice.

I hope it is okay to post this, I am just trying to help. ii

I wanted a nice easy to search guide that new users could reference. If that exists, my apologies, I can delete this.
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Recommended Voltages for the Typhoon H.

13.2V (3.3V/cell) Lowest voltage the battery should EVER be at. Below this the battery will most likely die. NEVER EVER let it get this low. If it is even possible on the H.

14.0V (3.5V/cell ) ABSOLUTE lowest level your voltage should ever be at to land for Lipo's in general. Below 14V is too low for good battery health, It is not recommend letting the H get this low. The warning will kick in before this so I don't think you can even run it this low thankfully.

14.3V Warning kicks in at this level but land BEFORE you ever see this warning!
Some guys report that they just land when the warning comes on at 14.3V. Feel free to do this but it is not the advice from everyone. This would be the absolute minimum voltage you should ever land at with the H IMHO. Hence the warning. ii

14.4V (3.6V/cell) Reported Lipo lowest safe level for a slow speed (not pushing the motors if far away) return and landing. Consensus is to land before you even reach this level to be safe. This is the "oops I was not paying attention and need to bring it home now" level if you forgot. You can drain the battery down to this and probably be okay but with variations in batteries and other factors you may or may not have issues over time.

14.8V (3.7V/cell) SAFE landing. The recommended voltage to start landing at. This takes into account battery differences, the accuracy of the reported voltage and reading the voltages under load. Usual advice is your battery will last the longest not letting it get too much below this level. This is having about 15% remaining on the battery. Some say you can run it even lower if you want to get max flight time but I would land no lower than 14.6V or maybe 14.5V. This is more for battery health than running out of power.

15.0V (3.75V/cell) If your drone is far away from you, but still in LOS, start thinking about bringing it home at 15V, or just below, to allow enough time to bring it home safe at whatever speed you want.

15.2V (3.8V/cell ) For storage. Keep it at this voltage when not using the battery for any length of time like over the winter. For us unlucky people that have to deal with winter. ii

16.8V (4.2V/cell ) Highest voltage the battery can hold or fully charged.

 

[GMC]

Thanks for this Paladin. I am collecting a How-To list and will add this to it. I have over 10 Word pages now. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to make this available to all on the forum. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[Paladin]

Thanks for this Paladin. I am collecting a How-To list and will add this to it. I have over 10 Word pages now. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to make this available to all on the forum. Any suggestions appreciated.

You could make it a Google doc and just share the link. That would allow you to format it nicely and easily distribute it. You could create an account just for this use to keep your personal one private. If you use Google.

 

[Jimmylee]

Just my opinion but I think way to early voltage to bring bird in.
Why cut your flying time so short.

When I get first warning at 14.3 I start heading home and land.
By the time It land its still at 14.3 with two bars left.
After I shut down motor's it recovers to 14.5.

I though Yuneec was being very conservative with these figures as it was, no need to cut the flying time any shorter.

 

[K3CFPV]

When I did my testing, I saw a 0.2V recovery between flight and post landing like mentioned above. However, even pre/post flight, there is still a small load on the battery (RC Rx, telemetry Tx, vTx, wireless, LEDs, etc.). When I compared the voltage as reported by the ST-16 with the actual battery voltage as measured with a quality DVM, there was another 0.18V difference. In total, there's almost 0.4V difference in the true battery voltage and that reported by the ST-16's in-flight readings.

 

[Paladin]

Just my opinion but I think way to early voltage to bring bird in.
Why cut your flying time so short.

When I get first warning at 14.3 I start heading home and land.
By the time It land its still at 14.3 with two bars left.
After I shut down motor's it recovers to 14.5.

I though Yuneec was being very conservative with these figures as it was, no need to cut the flying time any shorter.

I won't tell you that you should not run your battery that low. ii

I am in no way, shape or form a Lipo expert. I welcome input. This is nothing official mind you, just my guide based on what other, more knowledgeable, people have to say. I based these numbers on what others have reported that are the best SAFE voltages to land. You can bring it home at 14.4V if you want to but that is the absolute minimum. Flying it back at 14.3 does not seem to be what the experts say. I think if you see that warning at 14.3 you should already be on the ground. ii

14.8 seems the recommended voltage to keep the battery in peak condition to hold its charge over time. This also takes into account what the ST16 is reporting and what the actual level probably is may not be equal.

Running it down to 14.3 every flight may not be what is best for the battery.

I could change that to 14.6 or 14.7 if others think I should but I think 14.3 is way too low.

14.6 to 14.8 seems to be the sweet spot. So I used the conservative number.

 

[Dragonflyerthom]

14.3/4=3.575 per cell. That is below the 3.8 recommended. So what can you live with.

 

[raptorheli2]

GEEEZ, this again ........So you know, i have been a lipo sponsored heli pilot for many years, i will refrain from naming them as i do not know the rules for advertising, but it is a MAJOR player in world lipos suffice to say. Also been using them since day they arrived in model scene.

This is VERY simple, Storage charge at 3.7v under no load minimum, if it goes below this then top it upto max 3.85v, be on the ground minimum 3.5v under load and you will have minimal issues.

If you land consistantly under load at 14-14.3v you will prolong the life of the battery, just as much as not leaving it fully charged too long or in different temps too.

 

[Chilcotin]

Yes I agree with the 14.6-14.8 range. Nice safety margin and a **** of a lot better for the battery. If you go below that you will notice it gets hot which is what you don't want, especially if the battery has a low C rating which this one may have.
Internal resistance checks should be performed on these batteries after every charge IMHO.

 

[Jimmylee]

GEEEZ, this again ........So you know, i have been a lipo sponsored heli pilot for many years, i will refrain from naming them as i do not know the rules for advertising, but it is a MAJOR player in world lipos suffice to say. Also been using them since day they arrived in model scene.

This is VERY simple, Storage charge at 3.7v under no load minimum, if it goes below this then top it upto max 3.85v, be on the ground minimum 3.5v under load and you will have minimal issues.

If you land consistantly under load at 14-14.3v you will prolong the life of the battery, just as much as not leaving it fully charged too long or in different temps too.

Sounds good to me and that is exactly where Yuneec set there 1st warning.

Heck I just want to have fun and get the most flying time possible.
If the battery only last a year instead of a year and a half no Biggy.

I have had my H six days now and just one battery and have done 50 flights till the 1st warning goes off.

 

[Paladin]

Sorry guys I was not trying to cause an argument here. ii
I did not see any posts that had the recommended numbers for the voltages all in one place. I created this for myself, but then I thought it would be helpful for others, so posted it.

You can fly your H down as low as you like obviously. I am not trying to tell anyone what to do. ii

I am unsure how accurate the ST16 really is in what it is reporting. So I wanted to be safe. I used numbers that seem to be the overall suggestions.

 

[LooseSid]

I don't wish to be rude Paladin but you admit to not being an expert on LiPos so why are you even putting all this unsubstantiated info up here?

 

[Jared]

I spent several hours over the weekend reading threads and watching videos on Lipo batteries and took notes etc.. This is the guide I came up with and I think it is pretty accurate. I am not an expert in any way but this information is from various sources and seems to be the best overall advice.

I hope it is okay to post this, I am just trying to help. ii

I wanted a nice easy to search guide that new users could reference. If that exists, my apologies, I can delete this.
============================================================================
Recommended Voltages for the Typhoon H.

13.2V (3.3V/cell) Lowest voltage the battery should EVER be at. Below this the battery will most likely die. NEVER EVER let it get this low. If it is even possible on the H.

14.0V (3.5V/cell ) ABSOLUTE lowest level to land for Lipo's. Below 14V is too low for good battery health, It is not recommend letting it get this low. The warning will kick in before this so I don't think you can even run it this low thankfully.

14.3V Warning kicks in at this level but land BEFORE you ever see this warning!

14.4V (3.6V/cell) Reported Lipo lowest level for a slow speed return. Consensus is to land before you even reach this level. This is the "oops I was not paying attention and need to bring it home NOW" level.

14.8V (3.7V/cell) SAFE landing. The recommended voltage to land at. This takes into account battery differences, the accuracy of the reported voltage and reading the voltages under load. Usual advice is your battery will last the longest not letting it get below this level. This is having about 15% remaining on the battery. Some say you can run it even lower but I would land no lower than 14.6.

15.0V (3.75V/cell) If your the drone is far away from you start bringing it home at 15V, or just below, to allow enough time to bring it home safe.

15.2V (3.8V/cell ) For storage. Keep it at this voltage when not using the battery for any length of time like over the winter. For us unlucky people that have to deal with winter. ii

16.8V (4.2V/cell ) Highest voltage the battery can hold or fully charged.

I really hope Yuneec will update the UI on the ST16 to show battery level more intuitively than by voltage. Many people think in terms of percent remaining rather than voltage. Thanks for the guide. I'm going to keep this handy.

 

[Paladin]

I don't wish to be rude Paladin but you admit to not being an expert on LiPos so why are you even putting all this unsubstantiated info up here?

Umm I don't believe any of it is unsubstantiated. I read a lot from these forums, and a few others, and watched several videos posted on Youtube from hobby experts. I spent about two to three hours trying to establish the best recommendations from various sources.

You do not have to be an expert on something to be able to research something and compile data. How many actual experts even agree?

This is not something I created by randomly picking voltages out of the air man. This is something I created for myself after researching the subject and thought I would share it. That is all.

If you don't agree that is fine. Feel free to discuss it. There are a LOT of opinions on this and no absolute consensus to these numbers. If there were I would not have needed to research it at all. ii

 

[horizontal]

I appreciate your taking the time to make a synopsis for all of us. Expert or not, it is these summaries that help us all as a reference guide.

Thank you regardless of whether some chose to follow your list.

 

[Jimmylee]

Sorry guys I was not trying to cause an argument here. ii
I did not see any posts that had the recommended numbers for the voltages all in one place. I created this for myself, but then I thought it would be helpful for others, so posted it.

You can fly your H down as low as you like obviously. I am not trying to tell anyone what to do. ii

I am unsure how accurate the ST16 really is in what it is reporting. So I wanted to be safe. I used numbers that seem to be the overall suggestions.

No problem bud, that is what the forum is all about, to express our ideas and thoughts.

We all read the info and come to our own conclusions.

I appreciate all info I read here and what other users think.

 

[MikeB]

Thanks Paladin, I've been looking for something like this. Great information.

 

[Rattler]

Thanks Paladin I appreciate all info.

 

[DroneClone]

Umm I don't believe any of it is unsubstantiated. I read a lot from these forums, and a few others, and watched several videos posted on Youtube from hobby experts. I spent about two to three hours trying to establish the best recommendations from various sources.

You do not have to be an expert on something to be able to research something and compile data. How many actual experts even agree?

This is not something I created by randomly picking voltages out of the air man. This is something I created for myself after researching the subject and thought I would share it. That is all.

If you don't agree that is fine. Feel free to discuss it. There are a LOT of opinions on this and no absolute consensus to these numbers. If there were I would not have needed to research it at all. ii

Good job researching this and I am in very close to your findings and voltages as you! I land at 14.5 V for now, then if Yuneec coughs up the exact number and something goes array, I can hold them liable, but they probably won't to cover their A**'s

 

[Samuel Fowler]

Thank you Paladin - I think what we all need is more batteries. Two more weeks for batteries...errr